93
“Cat!” Thorun gasps, “what are you doing?”
“Thorun, you might want to look away; things are about to get ugly.”
“No!”
Thorun grabs my hand and pushes the gun down.
“You can’t shoot Sona. She’s our friend.”
“She’s not our friend,” I shake my head and meet Sona’s eyes. “Are you, Sona?”
“I try to be,” she whispers.
“I’ve let this go on too long. Ever since Seville I’ve known you have to go.”
“Cat, it’s water under the bridge…” she starts.
I shake my head, my eyes on hers.
“You knew Thorun was going to be murdered by Evelyn, yet you didn’t warn her.”
“I’ve forgiven her for that,” Thorun says quickly, “she was scared, Cat. We all make mistakes.”
“And,” I go on as though I hadn’t heard her, “you told Amadea I put sleeping tablets in their water.”
Thorun gasps as Sona shakes her head in denial.
“And you told the contestants the bachelor sent me the be-jewelled choker as a gift.”
Thorun puts her hands over her face and asks through her fingers, her voice thick, “Sona, is this true?”
Sona raises her chin and meets my steady gaze.
“It’s a game. You know it, I know it. I might have spread information, but I never tried to physically harm you.”
“You never tried because you’re a coward,” I murmur, my tone flat, decision made, just a finger between her and her maker. “And I’m offering you a coward’s way out. Turn your back to me and kneel; you won’t see it coming. You won’t feel a thing.”
“Cat!” Thorun screams, “you can’t do this! It’s not right. It’s not right to kill people like this.”
“You heard her confession,” I scowl.
“And you heard what she said,” she shrieks, her voice beginning to hold an hysterical edge. “It’s a game. It’s all just a game. She’s our friend.”
“It’s not just a GAME, Thorun!” I snap. “It’s never been just a game from the moment we were selected. It’s war. Kill or be killed. This competition is just a taster. In the last competition we have to kill someone each, or we can’t cross the finish line.”
“What?”
“You heard. Killing is a prerequisite to becoming part of the final three. You HAVE to be able to kill to marry a vampire.”
“No,” she shakes her head, “no. Jag wouldn’t want this.”
“Where do you think he gets his meals?” I snarl, “fucking McBloodalds?”
“What are you saying? What are you saying?” She cries, looking from me to Sona and back again.
“I’m saying that vampires kill humans for blood.
They don’t drink donated blood like we’ve all been taught or led to believe.
That’s why these games are so disgustingly bloodthirsty.
They want a wife with blood-stained hands because she won’t question their lifestyle.
She’s complicit in the death of her kind in every way, from the night she’s selected to the night she marries him. ”
“Oh, my God!” Thorun sobs, falling to her knees, her face in her hands.
“Yes,” I sigh, motioning with my gun for Sona to join her in the dirt, “so you see, killing Sona is just a necessary step for me to get where I need to be. And she deserves it. She double-crossed us both, she broke her word, she is NOT A FRIEND.”